Survey: Palmerston North Great Place To Raise A Family

The third
Palmerston North City Image Survey has found consensus
amongst residents and visitors on a number of positive
living measurements, reinforcing that the city’s a great
place to raise a family and a great place for student
life.

Palmerston North Mayor Jono Naylor says an
overview of the results show that the confidence of
residents in our city is strong.

In all 402 people
were surveyed, 50 per cent were residents while the other
half were visitors to the city from the lower North Island.
Visitors appeared to have less of an appreciation of what
the city had to offer, although when compared with previous
surveys there has been some improvement.

Both
surveyed groups agreed the city is an easy place to live;
has a great lifestyle; great parks and recreational
facilities; is a great place for raising a family, cycling,
and education and student life.

Jono Naylor says the
results show we are doing well in some areas. However there
are gaps and we need to continue telling people about what
we’re doing with sustainability, innovation, business
friendliness and why we are a visitor destination so that
more people are aware of what a great city this is. “The
regional magazine ‘The Page’ is helping us do this and I
look forward to the next edition which will be launched
later this month.”

Last year Council carried out
an email panel survey of 400 residents. That survey asked:
“If Palmerston North was a person, what sort of person
would it be?” And: “What sort of person would you want
it be?”

The results, while mixed, contained some
common themes including: artistic, vibrant, multicultural,
caring, prosperous and sensible, while others chose
adjectives like conservative, lacking in confidence.

Interestingly, what came through quite strongly is that
those surveyed want Palmerston North to be more confident,
exciting, friendly, family oriented and artistic.

Mayor Naylor says the response about the future fits
with our vision of where we want Palmerston North to be as a
city, a city that is recognised as a vibrant, caring,
innovative and sustainable.

Earlier this month
international urban strategist Charles Landry was in
Palmerston North. He indexed the city against 17 other
international cities. His final report is still being
compiled and will be made public later this month.

Mayor Naylor says he read both surveys with Charles
Landry’s words fresh on his mind.

“Charles
Landry told us that easy, comfortable and relaxed are great
adjectives however they can indicate complacency. We need to
be alert, recognise threats at local, national and
international levels and introduce specific actions to
fulfil our vision.”

“The results of the surveys
show we are moving in the right direction and have also
provided us with food for thought."

Notes:

The City Image Survey
was carried out in October and November last year. 201
residents and 201 visitors from the lower North Island were
canvassed. The survey gauges perceptions about where we
live, work and play and is the third to be carried out since
2005. The findings inform strategies to effectively market
the city to prospective visitors, business and other groups
and have a margin of error of plus or minus 5%.

The
two previous surveys were carried out in 2005 and 2009.
Some questions were added in 2012 to reflect the Council’s
new strategic direction.

The survey consisted of 17
statements and respondents were asked to rate Palmerston
North on these statements e.g. “Using the scale of very
good, good, neutral, not very good and poor how would you
rate Palmerston North in terms of being a progressive
go-ahead vibrant city?”

Of the visitors who took
part in the survey 71 per cent of visitors were in the city
for pleasure (shopping, entertainment, and hospitality).

Some key findings of the residents’
survey include:Note: statistics provided
below are those good or very good• 95 per
cent felt Palmerston North is a great city for student life
and being a city with good parks, sports and recreational
facilities.• 93 per cent felt it’s a great
place for families.• 51 per cent felt that
Palmerston North is a place New Zealanders would want to
come and visit. This is up from 42 per cent in 2005 and 50
per cent in 2009.• 52 per cent felt the city
had good jobs.• 62 per cent feel Palmerston
North is a leading city in the quest to be environmentally
sustainable – the difference from 2009 (when the question
was first posed) is within the margin of error.•
79 per cent felt the city is a progressive, go ahead,
vibrant city up from 58 per cent in 2005 and 69 per cent in
2009• 86 per cent think Palmerston North is a
likeable friendly city, compared with 74 per cent in 2009
and 77 per cent in 2005 – importantly this was across all
age groups however was most strongly felt by those aged over
45.• 93 per cent of those surveyed felt
Palmerston North is a great place for families compared to
62 per cent in 2009.

Some key findings from
the survey of visitors include:• 86
per cent felt the city is great for student education and
student life which is similar to that recorded in
2009.• 74 per cent felt the city is likeable
and friendly which is improved on 70 per cent in 2009 but is
down from 78 per cent in 2005.• 73 per cent
felt the city has good parks, sports and recreational
facilities.• 70 per cent felt the city is an
attractive place to walk around and 68 per cent felt the
city was a great place to cycle.• The number
of people who think Palmerston North is a progressive, go
ahead, vibrant city has dropped from 69 per cent in 2009 to
55 per cent in 2012.• 42 per cent felt it was
a place New Zealanders would want to visit, down from 47 per
cent in 2009 and 46% in 2005.• 29 per cent
felt there were good jobs, down on 40 per cent in 2009 and
36 per cent in 2005.• 34 per cent felt the
city is a leading in the quest to be sustainable –same as
in 2009.• 71 per cent of visitors were for
pleasure and the majority came from households that earned
less than $40,000.• 60 per cent of visitors
had not seen any advertising for Palmerston North.

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